A film about starting over at the end of the line

Videos

Our first teaser! The demo budget (…) didn’t stretch to filming in exotic locations, so many thanks to the people producing and posting internet clips, and to Doug Saunders for providing some stunning photographs. BTW, the first music clip is by B21, a Birmingham group named for their postcode. One version of it was used in Bend it Like Beckham, a great movie about mashing cultures in London.

Will add other details as they become available, but let us know what you think! We welcome discussion and posts.

We also appreciate any help you can offer, whether that’s a “Like” or other thumbs-up here, on Vimeo or our Facebook page, a contribution once our Indiegogo campaign launches, help securing sponsorship from your organisation, or some other type of funding connection. At a certain level, there’s an associate-producer credit and a percentage in it – for reals. Come make a movie with us!

In an interview on Montreal’s experience with waves of Québecois and then international rural immigrants, Plateau Mont-Royal borough mayor Luc Ferrandez draws parallels between the “Arrival Cities” of the early 1900s and those in the developing world today.

Thanks specifically to those waves of newcomers, the Plateau has developed into a vibrant and sought-after area, contributing to the success and resilience of the city around it.

Montreal will feature in the film as just one of the older cities which have incorporated arrival cities into their fabric – and which may serve as an example for others.

“The rural-urban divide is quite evident. Megacities and large cities are the richest and have far better access to basic public services; smaller towns, secondary cities, and areas on the perimeter of urban centers are less rich; and rural areas are the poorest...
But this does not mean unfettered urbanization is a cure-all – the urban poor in many places urgently need better services as well as infrastructure that will keep them connected to schools, jobs and decent health care.”
- Kaushik Basu, the World Bank’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for Development Economics

Praise for Arrival City (the book):

"Few books can make rationalists feel optimistic and empowered for the future. [Arrival City] does." - The Guardian

"Arrival City asks that we take a closer look at urbanization before its mismanagement is further mistaken for the thing itself, and to recognize that a citified future is not necessarily a doomed one." - NPR

"Serious, mightily researched, lofty and humane, Arrival City is packed with salient detail and could hardly be more timely... It feels like a game changer; it should certainly be a policy changer." - The New York Times

"Saunders's approach is through anecdotes and vignettes, but...they cumulate into a persuasive whole...practical suggestions for helping immigrants." - Financial Times

"essential reading...for all who look at the future of cities with a mix of hope and fear." - Winnipeg Free Press